


reach out to the truth

by curediarahan



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Persona 4, Comedy, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mystery, Neurodiversity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29232273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curediarahan/pseuds/curediarahan
Summary: They say if you enter the Goddess Tower on a rainy midnight and look into the mirror found at the very top, your soulmate will reveal themselves to you. But when Dimitri accompanies Felix and Annette to investigate the rumors, the three of them discover a mysterious world with strange monsters. When Dimitri realizes this world could be the missing link he needed to find the culprit behind his family's murders, he and the other Blue Lions embark on a quest to reach out to the truth.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10
Collections: The Three Houses AU Bang





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written for the 3h AU bang!!  
> it's hard to write in a time like this, but i hope yall enjoy it <3  
> featuring art by [whimsy](https://twitter.com/whimsyfeels) whos super sweet and was super understanding about my writing speed lkamsd pls follow em their art is great!!

Perhaps Dimitri was foolish to think a new school year would lead to great changes. He just wanted a new start, a chance to do something more, and Garreg Mach University could be that opportunity for him.

Nobody told him that murder would be involved.

He obediently followed his first-year group into the auditorium, huddled between a boy with silver hair and their leader, a kind girl with light blonde hair. A part of him was guilty for not remembering their names. And yet, they had hardly gathered together before an emergency meeting was called.

Still, the unknown names and faces stood out against the ones he knew well. He could spot Ingrid’s familiar braid a few rows in front of him. Dedue towered easily over the first years he was leading, composed as ever. Dimitri even took comfort in Sylvain _not_ being there, as the older boy was the farthest thing away from orientation leader material. 

But he couldn’t relax. Not really. Not ever maybe. Dimitri could feel a prickly glare, and he immediately straightened his back, shoulders squared. He didn’t even _know_ where Felix was, and yet, he could feel his disappointment. Not like Dimitri deserves anything else these days.

The clicks of heels walking on the stage silenced the room.

“Good morning, everyone. I apologize for greeting you in this matter,” A regal woman, one that Dimitri has seen in plenty of pictures, stepped onto the podium. She smiled, a light expression filled with warmth. “Though I am known by many titles, I insist you refer to me as Rhea. As you may know, I am the head of Garreg Mach University. It delights me to see so many new faces joining us this year.”

Her smile faded, replaced with a stern expression. “I hate to start your time at Garreg Mach University like this. However, it’s important to all of us that you all know that you are safe ere.”

She went on to give her condolences. A murder, she stated, involving an incoming professor. Regrets that his time was cut so short. Already making plans to adjust the courses accordingly. Apologies for telling them of such a burden but letting them know that the local authorities are investing the matter. The stage was then given to a rather jolly man, the head of campus security. He went on to inform them of the increased safety measures and a temporary curfew.

It was all normal. All protocol. The students already knew of the murder before they stepped into the auditorium. Everyone was huddled in their small groups that morning, anxious faces looking at their leaders for help. Rumors were surely already spreading.

Dimitri remembers looking at his phone. The news was shocking, but somehow, he didn’t find himself worrying about safety. At least, not his own. 

_New GMU Professor’s Body Found Near Campus….Body hanging on the branches….found by a student…._

The student was never named, but somehow, everyone already knew.

Dimitri’s eyes scanned the crowd, wondering if he could find her. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had forgone the morning’s activities. 

His breath caught in his throat. 

He found her.

Edelgard von Hresvelg. 

She was amongst her own orientation group, at the leftmost corner of the room. 

Dimitri couldn’t see much of her from where he was sitting, but she didn’t seem to be wavering. Edelgard looked surprisingly put together. Her brown hair was long, tied back with a ribbon. Nothing about her stood out really. In fact, she seemed to be watching the presentation with utmost obedience.

If anything, she looked like the same girl Dimitri had known so long ago. His stepsister. The one who taught him how to dance and scolded him for stepping on her toes.

Dimitri worried for her, of course he did, but maybe he had no right to try and talk to her anymore. The two of them exchanged letters, before they abruptly stopped in high school. Ironically enough, it stopped when everything else in Dimitri’s life had changed.

Even beyond that, Dimitri looked different enough from his childhood self that Edelgard wouldn’t recognize him.

Still, Dimitri might be able to...

“...and I hope that despite the circumstances, you enjoy the activities your group leaders have planned this week. Though courses have not started yet, know that you already have found a home at GMU.”

Dimitri jumped slightly as the auditorium filled with applause. Then, the groups began to filter out by rows.

He watched Edelgard leave the hall, a reassurance in her steps that Dimitri could only hope to emulate.

* * *

Their leader herded the group underneath an oak tree. Despite the gruesome news, the sun was shining brightly in the sky with birds chirping every so often. 

It was almost reassuring. 

Dimitri found himself next to the same silver haired boy from earlier. He seemed friendly enough, though he kept fiddling with his sleeves. The other member of their group was a shorter girl, with bright orange hair tied in pigtails.

The leader smiled brightly at them.

“It’s good to see everyone here!” She clasped her hands together. 

“Wait, it’s just us three?” The other boy asked, his hands still moving. “Aren’t these groups usually...bigger?”

“During summer orientation, yes, but we’re not that big of a school, now are we?”

And well, she was right. A quick glance around revealed plenty of other groups, all ranging from 3-5 people. The number didn’t seem correct, but a murder probably didn’t help enrolment numbers at an already elite school. Dimitri wasn’t able to find Edelgard again, but he did finally figure out where Felix was, the boy scowling as always. The sight was almost nostalgic.

He quickly turned back. It would do him no good if Felix caught him staring.

“Well, the news that happened is tragic and I do pray the victim has found peace. But I also want to make sure the three of you are alright. Do you need anything?”

An awkward silence. 

The leader continued, the same smile on her face. “Well, I’m here if you ever need anything, whether it’s now or in the future! I can bake some cookies and we’ll sit together for tea. For now, I hope the events today can keep your mind off of what happened! We’ll start with introductions.”

From her bag, she pulled out a name tag and stuck it on her shirt. ‘MERCEDES’ was written in a pretty cursive, with ‘she/her’ underneath. 

“I’m Mercedes! You can call me Mercie if you’d like! I’m a Junior, majoring in Women’s Studies as well as being on the Pre-Med track. I like to bake and sew.” She passed out the stickers and a sharpie pen. “While we all do this, why don’t you all tell me the same?”

Dimitri focused on writing his name as neatly as possible, doing his best to listen to the others. The shorter girl turns out to be named Annette, a biology major who likes studying and music. The boy is Ashe, a literature major that likes to cook. 

The three of them look at him, Mercedes still smiling.

“Erm, excuse me. My name is Dimitri Alexndre Blaiddyd. I would like to study history. I don’t have hobbies, not really, but I do enjoy horseback riding.”

For some reason, Annette began to giggle. Dimitri blinked owlishly at her.

“Ooo, you’re so fancy! Almost like a prince!”

“Thank...you?”

“You do have that aura actually,” Ashe said, his eyes shining. “Actually, your name sounds familiar. Blaiddyd, you said? Like the one from mythology?”

That’s something people don’t point out every day. Dimitri was used to being recognized, though it was usually for money or even worse, the tragedies that made up his life. And there wasn’t any reason for Ashe to _not_ know about Dimitri’s parents, with how long the story stayed on the news.

Mythology though. Dimitri chuckled, childhood memories of carrying heavy books to his father rising to the surface. 

“Yes, actually. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but my family is often said to be direct descendants of Blaiddyd. I’m not too sure how true that is. However, we did inherit a rather impressive lance by the name of Areadbhar. It’s often said to be Blaiddyd’s own personal weapon, though the connection seems faulty at best. Blaiddyd was described as holding a lance, but Areadbhar seems to match the description of other heroes instead, most notably Loog himself.”

“Wait, Loog? He’s my favorite hero to study! Do you remember the legend where…”?

The trio continued to talk about the stories of the old, with Annette even providing her own stories about a mythical hammer.

Without them noticing at all, Mercedes had managed to herd them to the next part of their orientation. Though Dimitri was appalled at ignoring her, she seemed quite pleased about their chatty behavior.

The activities of the day were quite varied. Some were informative, focusing on classes and learning about other resources on campus. Others were focused on bonding with other groups, ranging from simple icebreakers to ones on the more competitive side.

* * *

It was inevitable that Dimitri would have to interact with Felix at some point.

He had hoped it would be during something busier, so to speak. Perhaps the egg race would’ve been perfect.

Unfortunately, Dimitri’s luck was never quite that good.

So instead, the two of them were awkwardly stuck with the classic two truths and one lie.

Dimitri stared down at his notecard, the sentences he wrote down suddenly feeling insignificant. After all, there was no use lying to Felix out of all people.

He cleared his throat. “We should start.”

Felix just scoffed, crossing his arms. Dimitri was expecting Felix to throw an insult or a harsh criticism not _nothing_. What was he supposed to do with absolutely nothing? Silence never did fit the two of them well.

“Er, well, you will probably figure out my lie. It’s not very fascinating. My three sentences are: I’m fond of the cold. I used to own a hamster. And my favorite color is blue.”

Nothing but silence.

“Felix, I can repeat it if you’d like-”

“Shut up, boar,” Felix grumbled. “This is pointless. I already know you need blankets piled on you every winter.”

Somehow, Felix remembering such a tiny detail about Dimitri brought a smile to his face. “That is correct, yes.”

“Why are you even here?”

The smile fell. “Pardon?”

“You could’ve gone to any other university, but you’re here. I need to know why. Just because everyone else is here doesn’t mean you should’ve gone too.”

“I think everyone else being here is a good enough reason. Everyone I care about is here. Dedue, Ingrid, Sylvain, even y-”

“Shut up.”

The silence returned, almost suffocating at this point. How did they even get to this point? Yes, he might’ve had his own reasons for choosing to go to GMU after all this time. The isolation from his old friends was one. He wanted to be near people he knew again, visits becoming infrequent as they got older. Having everyone together would just be like the days of his childhood.

And the other reasoning is something Felix shouldn’t have a clue about. 

Dimitri bit his lip. “We could at least pretend to play the game. Felix, what are your sentences?”

Felix frowned. “I think this game is dumb, I hate you, and I hate this school.” 

Dimitri sighed. He’s not sure why he expected anything else. Still…

“Felix, you’re supposed to include one lie. Saying three things that are true isn’t what the game is about. I think adhering to the rules is what makes it enjoyable.”

Felix’s attention snapped backed towards Dimitri, the sudden eye contact startling him. “You’re insufferable. Play your idiotic game with someone else.”

With that, the darker haired man stomped off, leaving Dimitri to ponder what exactly he did wrong this time. 

* * *

After the fiasco with Felix, Ashe and Annette seemed to sense something being off. He had no idea how, but it did raise his spirits to have the duo constantly by his side, with Mercedes always keeping a close eye on them. They even tagged along when he found time to greet Ingrid and Dedue.

Even Sylvain showed up at some point. No one knew exactly why he was there, but Sylvain did always follow his own rhythm. Predictably, he tried to flirt with Mercedes, but wasn’t very successful when Annette pointed out the flaws in his “brilliant date plan”.

Regardless, it really was like his childhood again. Mercedes seemed to understand if he needed a break from the social activities and Annette and Ashe were friends, he didn’t know he needed. It was just great to be around _people_ again.

Still, by the end of the day, Dimitri was ready to fall asleep on his feet. He could barely keep his eyes open as Mercedes led them to one more group activity, this one being a private one between the leader and their group. Though the lighting was minimal, Dimitri could make out “Knight’s Hall” on the outside of the door.

Inside, it was completely dark.

From seemingly nowhere, Mercedes pulled out a flashlight, the light illuminating her face. Her ever present smile seemed more sinister in the shadows.

Annette laughed nervously. “Hey, Mercie, what are we doing here?”

“Oh, it’s just a little something extra for everyone! Make yourselves comfortable.”

Mercedes settled onto a sofa in front of an unlit fireplace. Dimitri found himself squished between Ashe and Annette, the three of them settling for cushions on the floor.

“So, before the year officially starts, I think it’s best to learn one last thing about GMU!” Mercedes’ grin widened. “Our famous ghost stories!”

“Hey, but ghosts aren’t _real,_ right, Mercie?” Annette squeaked out; her hands gripped on a spare cushion. It took a second for Dimitri to register Annette shaking ever so slightly.

“Well, no one knows for sure! Even if they’re not real, they’re important to our history,” Mercedes smoothed out her skirt before continuing on. “Don’t worry, I’ll start with my favorite one. It’s the Legend of the Goddess Tower.”

“Wait, I thought the Legend of the Goddess Tower was about the White Heron Cup,” Ashe said. “And your wish coming true if you climb to the top of it during the night of the dance? I didn’t know that g-ghosts would be involved.”

“Oh, no, that’s a different one!” Mercedes replied. “The Goddess Tower is the center of many legends. It’s often said that the tower is blessed by the Goddess Herself. A lot of supernatural events do occur around it.”

“For this legend, it’s said that there’s a mirror at the very top. For this mirror to work, you have to enter it during a rainy night. No other time will work. To reward you for your trip, the image of your soulmate will appear in the mirror!”

“Your soulmate? That’s not scary at all!” Annette remarked. Dimitri had to agree. In fact, the idea was...almost appealing.

“Well, yes, seeing your soulmate can be a wonderful thing!” Mercedes continued. “But there’s a chance this will fail. No one is sure how. Some say you must have a pure heart to see your soulmate. Others say you must have the Goddess’ favor. Either way, the result is the same.”

“If you fail, you’ll see your reflection. Not an ordinary reflection though. If you lean closer, you realize the reflection’s movements don’t quite match up with yours. You lift up your arm, there will be a small delay. You swear it blinks before you do. And then, when you least expect it…” Mercedes made a claw shape with her other hand, swiping the air in front of her. “It’ll reach out and drag you into another world! No one knows what will happen to you there, but they say the reflection will step out of the mirror. It takes your place, and no one will ever know the difference.”

Judging by how tightly Annette was gripping onto the cushion, the mention of doppelgangers brought back her fear. Dimitri, on the other hand, didn’t know how to feel.

Legends were legends, stories for fun and had little base with the truth. 

“There’s no proof of this, is there?” Dimitri asked. “I do admit to wanting to see this magical mirror for myself but…”

“Well, you haven’t been to the Goddess Tower, have you? Maybe you should see for yourself what it’s like,” Mercedes replied. “Or maybe not! I don’t recommend walking around during a rainy night.”

She readjusted her flashlight. “Now, let’s upgrade to scarier tales!”

“There’s _more_?!”

* * *

When Dimitri finally returned to his room, he had immediately fallen onto his bed, his limbs sore and aching. Sleep had claimed him rather quickly.

But when he opened his eyes, he could no longer see the bland walls of his dorm room.

Instead, he was in a library, sitting at a desk. Shelves covered each wall, reaching high to the ceiling. Above, a starry night sky greeted him.

Curiously, most of the books were the same shade of blue. In fact, most of the room was covered in that blue, with shades of gold and white appearing every so often.

With a start, Dimitri realized he wasn’t the only person in the room.

There was a figure, leaning against the only other table in the room while reading a book. They wore a dark blue dress, a ribbon tied to their collar. Their blue-green hair fell to their shoulders, a strange horn-like accessory sitting at their ear.

Dimitri blinked. His mind felt foggy and unfocused. He felt disconnected from his body, just like a dream.

The figure looked up. Bright yellow eyes stared back at him.

“Oh, hello,” Their voice was monotone, on the softer side. They tilted their head, flipping through their book.

Dimitri wanted to reply, but the disconnect was too great. The fogginess seemed to increase by the second.

The figure took no notice of this, too focused on their book. Every so often, they would glance back at Dimitri.

“Well, this is unusual.” They placed the book on the table. “You’re not my guest, are you? I do not see the potential of the wildcard within you. And yet...”

Their eyes seemed to glow even brighter.

“It seems that your fate is connected to mine.”


	2. Chapter 2

The morning was crisp. Birds were chirping and the trees were slowly fading into colors of red and gold. The sunlight filtered through Dimitri’s window, an offering of warmth on a cool day.

It was a nice morning. The perfect day to start the school year.

Dimitri’s movements were slow as he went through the motions of his daily routine. The dream was still on his mind, leaving him with a strange feeling.

He remembered blue. Velvet blue, to be exact. There was a stranger with bright, golden eyes.

Anything else was a blur.

“I suppose that was nothing more than a dream,” He muttered to himself. Dimitri double checked his bag, making sure he had the correct number of journals, before heading out his room.

* * *

Dimitri’s first class was a literature class for first years. The course description did mention a particular focus on medieval literature, so he’d hope it would be more exciting than the usual. 

And then Felix walked in.

For a split second, they made eye contact. Felix frowned and immediately walked over, throwing his bag onto the desk next to him.

“Don’t say anything, boar,” Felix grumbled. “I am not here to talk to you.”

“I, well,” Dimitri stammered, conflicted between telling him Felix was literally talking to him right that second or being happy he chose to sit there at all. “It’s just that I’m surprised to see you?”

“Why are you surprised,” Felix glared. “We don’t have that many choices as first years. It’s a required class.”

And well, he did have a point. With their shared childhood, Dimitri knows Felix has (had?) the same interests as him. They spent plenty of time as children reciting the tales of Loog and Kyphon.

Problem was, Felix didn’t seem to have that interest in these stories anymore.

“Oh! Dimitri! Is that your friend? It’s good to see you!”

Ashe cheerfully took a seat next to Felix, much to the other boy’s chagrin. “I was getting worried that I’d never find this class.”

“Ah, it’s good to see you too, Ashe,” Dimitri smiled, hoping it didn’t look too unnatural on his face. He was always bad at expressions. “Oh, this is Felix.”

“Nice to meet you, Felix! I’m Ashe.”

Ashe offered his hand to shake. Felix just scoffed at it, turning towards the front of the room.

Before Dimitri could apologize on Felix’s behalf, the room was suddenly filled with silence. 

A man, presumably the professor, approached the front desk. He began writing on the whiteboard, his long coat trailing on the floor.

_Byleth Eisner_

_He/They_

The professor turned around to face the class. Dimitri gasped, the pen he was holding strained under his grip. He knew Felix was giving him a strange look, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t.

The professor had the same face as the figure in his dream. The same hair. The same emotionless expression.

There were tiny differences between them, the professor’s hair being cropped shorter and his eyes sterner, but other than that, they were the same. Almost like they were twins.

“Good morning. My name is Byleth. These are my pronouns.” He pointed at the board. Even his voice had the same monotone quality. “Please don’t call me a Doctor, I’m not one yet. Don’t call me Mr. either. Call me Professor. Or just Byleth.”

He began to pace around the front of the room, the class’ eyes focused on him. “I will tell you this is my first-year teaching. It’s your first year too. I hope we can learn from each other.”

Byleth paused, then faced the class once more. “Does anyone want to tell me what this class is about?”

Silence.

Ashe raised his hand. “This is a class about medieval literature, right?”

“Oh, thank you. I didn’t actually know. They don’t tell me these things.”

The silence dragged on.

“It’s a joke.”

Dimitri wasn’t sure if he was serious or not.

Byleth sighed. “Well, what do you all know about medieval literature? Fodlan kids like their Ten Elites, right? Seiros and Nemesis and all that jazz? If you’re a Faerghus kid, then you probably have the Loog and Kyphon too. All classics. All pretty good. I’m attached to King Loog and the Maiden of the Wind myself.”

“But that shouldn’t be everything you’re reading. We should work to expand your world. There’s plenty more out there that Fodlan will never cover. I’m sure you’ve heard of Archanea with that movie about Prince Marth, but what about Valentia? Jugdral? Have you ever explored the stories of Magvel or Elibe or even Tellius? Hell, Hoshido has more than their fun cartoons. I’ll do my best to cover them all. Lots of interesting stuff. Lots of women too if you’re not satisfied with Fodlan’s league of male heroes. And LGBT content! I swear you can do more than homosexual readings of Loog and Kyphon.”

“I’d say we start chronologically, but we can shake things up. I have enough recurring themes to discuss. Loyalty to the crown, fighting oppression, tragic princes,” Byleth waved his hand. “I’ll survey it later, maybe. I do have a good place to start though.”

He turned back to the board and wrote “FATE” in big letters.

“Many of these stories are about defying fate. No matter the location, humanity is interested in fighting against the fate they were assigned. Giant dragon or not, you don’t want to lose to that, do you? You don’t want to give up and have your world destroyed. So, you go and fight that dragon.”

Byleth stared at the class. Dimitri could’ve sworn they were looking directly at him.

“But we don’t have giant dragons. Our problems aren’t fought as easily. So then, what do you do? What choices do you have?”

“It’s not an easy question. Just know your choices are never as easy as they seem to be.”

The rest of class went by fast. Byleth never pulled out an official syllabus, but made them write down various figures (lords, he called them) to research on their own time.

“Isn’t this all exciting?” Ashe grinned as he packed up his notebook. “I never had a chance to study these stories back in high school. Just a few of the well-known ones, like the tales of Prince Marth or Prince Chrom. I never knew there were so many stories similar to ours.”

“Yes,” Dimitri nodded. “Literature is not my strong suit, but I hope my fondness for Loog and Kyphon will carry over.”

“Oh, do you have a favorite story?” Ashe’s eyes lit up. “My personal favorite has to be-”

“They’re just stories,” Felix said, standing up abruptly. “They all say the same thing about chivalry and knights. It’s disgusting.”

“Now, Felix, you don’t have to say it that way…” Dimitri frowned. It wouldn’t do anyone good to chase off Ashe like that. He was friendly and passionate in a way none of his current friends were like.

However, Ashe didn’t seem to be deterred whatsoever. If Dimitri wasn’t imagining things, Ashe seemed to brighten up even more.

“It’s alright, that just means you haven’t found the right book. I’m sure I can find something to your taste! Anyway, Dimitri, Felix, let me know if you want to study together sometime! I’ll see you later.”

The boy ran off in the other direction. Though they haven’t spent that much time together, Dimitri already finds himself endeared to Ashe’s enthusiasm.

Felix, on the other hand, whirled towards Dimitri the moment Ashe turned the corner.

“What was going on with you in class?”

“Ah, nothing,” Dimitri adjusted the strap to his bag, avoiding eye contact with Felix. “I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

There was no way to explain that he had a weird dream with Byleth’s supposed twin. Even if there was, he doubted Felix would believe him.

Felix just glared at him. “Don’t slack off with your sleep schedule. I won’t babysit you like that.”

“Yes, well…”

“What?”

Dimitri bit his lip. “You don’t...have to watch over me like this. You can leave me alone, I know that’s what you want.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “You really are an idiot.”

With that, Felix stomped off, leaving Dimitri to stare after him.

He had to admit, he misses the days where he could easily read Felix’s every move. Now, Dimitri barely understands him at all.

* * *

Days pass. Things begin to settle into a routine. His other classes go well, especially when he finds himself with other friends. He quickly meets new people and exchanges numbers with them. The campus slowly calms down with time, with the extra security being accepted as normal.

(He never sees Edelgard. He tries, yet she never seems to be anywhere on campus)

Dimitri doesn’t have any more strange dreams, but it’s still jarring to see Professor Byleth in class.

Remarkably, it becomes his favorite class. Felix’s presence does sour the mood occasionally, but Ashe always brings it back up.

In a lot of ways, these days were boring and mundane. Dimitri found himself okay with the lack of news.

Then one day, it rained.

The atmosphere of the campus seemed to shift. Instead of students lounging in the sun, they would rush to stay under cover. The library was more crowded these days, students trying to find comfort amongst the books. Usually, Dimitri found himself in the library on his free days, catching up on his studies.

Unfortunately, the rain meant Dimitri’s favorite study spots would quickly get stolen. He frowned as he left the library, pulling his jacket in tighter. It wasn’t that big of a deal, not really. But he couldn’t focus like this.

He wandered campus for a bit, dodging the rain to the best he could. He might as well go back to his dorm at this rate.

From the corner of his eye, there was a flash of a purple ribbon and brown hair.

Dimitri turned around, looking for the girl that passed him.

And yet, there was no one else there.

* * *

“You’re an interesting one, aren’t you?”

It was that dream again, with the same figure from before. Byleth’s look alike stared at him, their hands brushing the cover of their book.

“Soon, you’ll have to make a choice. If you make the correct one…”

They looked up, gazing at the stars above.

“Well, we’ll see each other a lot more.”

* * *

The rain stubbornly continued. The light patter was relaxing, lulling Dimitri to a sleepiness he tried to shake off. The words of his textbooks and the glaring light of his screen were often not enough to hold his attention, and at some point, he had fallen asleep.

In the end, his phone vibrating was enough to wake him up. With a sigh, he swiped notifications of Sylvain spamming the group chat. Dimitri blinked, seeing the interface cheerfully state it’s 11 PM. He looked again at his word document, half an essay pulled up.

How long was he asleep for?

He frowned. It wasn’t the most progress he could make, but when did it get so late? Distantly, Dimitri felt the sharp pang of his empty stomach and the beginnings of a headache.

Maybe it would be best to get food.

He searched his room for a bit, hoping to find some kind of snack. But he never did make it a habit to keep food around, and so his search ended up being pointless.

At least the vending machine was there for him.

Dimitri pocketed his wallet and phone, trudging out his room with his raincoat. The hallways and lounge were oddly empty, though he could hear muffled talking or the sound of music coming from behind bedroom doors.

Outside, the vending machine was just outside the dorm entrance, a lone light the only thing indicating its presence. Dimitri could almost hear Dedue scolding him for the life choices that led him to this point, but surely, some Sun Chips and Snickers counted for a meal every once in a while, right?

He squinted at the buttons, making sure he was pressing in the right things. His hands always seemed too big for these machines.

“It’s not that far, come on!”

“Yeah, but it’s raining-”

A pause. Dimitri turned his head to the side, seeing Felix and Annette, out of all people, exiting the building. Felix looked surprised to see him there, but seeing the snacks in his hands, his expression morphed into a scowl.

“What are you doing out here?”

Dimitri glanced at his precious Sun Chips. “Getting food?”

“That’s not food. Did you skip dinner?”

“Ugh, Felix, don’t be so rude!” Annette punched his arm lightly, the movement shocking even Dimitri. When did the two of them get so close? “Wait, Dimitri can come with us!”

“What, no!”

“Where are you going in the rain?” Dimitri tilted his head, ignoring Felix’s protests.

“Don’t you remember!” Annette looked up at him with a grin. “The Goddess Tower! We have to go and check it out.”

“And I have to make sure she doesn’t get killed breaking into an old tower,” Felix sighed. “You are not going to find your soulmate in some old mirror. Soulmates aren’t even real!”

“Ignore whatever he’s saying,” Annette bounced forward, grabbing onto Dimitri’s arm. “You’re curious too, right? Let’s go!”

All things considered, Dimitri should say no. He still had his essay to write and he wouldn’t want to interrupt Annette and Felix’s time together.

But curiosity still clung onto him. Dimitri wanted to see the mirror and see if myths could become reality. He wanted to have an adventure, live the new life he wanted.

He thought of a starry sky and figures in blue and maybe, just maybe, it was all connected. 

Dimitri took a deep breath. Looked at Annette’s eager eyes and Felix’s lack of enthusiasm.

“I’ll go.”

Annette squealed, her laugh high-pitched and sweet. “Yay, let’s go!”

She started to drag Dimitri off.

“Hey, wait!”

The two turned around, looking at Felix still huddled under the roof.

“At least eat more than chips, you stupid boar,” Felix opened the door back into the dorms. “Everyone knows the bare minimum is ramen.”

“Can’t argue with that!” Annette tugged Dimitri back the other way. “Ramen break and then we’ll have an adventure!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey p4's intro is supposed to be hours long :P
> 
> bother me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/dazzletine) if you wanna talk heh


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